


the sugar went straight to my brain

by jukeboxtheghostie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, gelato scooper kags, later on, the product of a shit ton of sprintobot sessions, too much time after practice hina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23011795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jukeboxtheghostie/pseuds/jukeboxtheghostie
Summary: “why do you eat so much gelato, anyways?” kageyama questioned as he finished off stuffing the cone, reaching across the counter to hand it to hinata— who took it happily— and turning around to wash his tools off.“oh come on, it's not that much!” hinata retorted, licking at the sides of his cone so the gelato wouldn't drip.“you come here every week.”“so?”“.. it's december.”“that it is!”—in which kageyama works at a gelato place in tokyo and hinata frequents during his shifts to see the pretty boy behind the counter.title from sweet tooth by cavetown
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 29
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> long time no see!!!! dont worry i wont disappear after 1 chapter again i have 4 more already typed and betaed and i have tons of ideas! so excited 2 share this fic w yall :3 it started as mindless crack and indulgence in a fav sweet of mine but ended up being something i loved writing abt :,0 enjoy! lemme know what u think!
> 
> (side note: i've been wanting to share my haikyuu fics with ao3 since 2016 B) finally getting around to that)

hinata had a rather sporadic daily routine. he was always somewhere new, sometimes with friends, sometimes at home playing video games, sometimes in classes at his local university. the only static thing in his life was volleyball— practice and matches were the one thing he never skipped out on. 

okay, maybe there was one other thing. 

hinata didn’t frequent very many food places, but he couldn't help but keep coming back to a local gelato shop in downtown tokyo. it wasn't the best place for sweets— his favorite place was a few blocks down and it had pastries bigger than his hand and tastier than anything he’d come across before— but the gelato at this place always had him coming back for more. on tuesdays he would walk in with a smile on his face and order his usual. they called it his usual, with how much he came by. he'd get his stracciatella and pay, thanking the cute gelato scooper..

okay, maybe the gelato wasn't the reason he was there so often. 

there was just something so alluring about that gelato scooper.. and hinata had to stake out the place by going constantly for a week to figure out what his hours were! he was very dedicated to his art, which his best friend kenma called “stalking”, but it totally wasn't! he was just admiring from afar. 

how could he not? the gelato scooper was really handsome! he had straight black hair cropped short everywhere but his bangs, which fell in his eyes. oh, his eyes.. they were weirdly blue, not the cliche icy blue kind but a deep blue, so blue they were almost black. his arms were, well.. they definitely weren't bad, hinata would leave it at that. the best thing is, the mysterious gelato boy had a name tag! and today, hinata was going to utilize that information. 

as he pushed the door open the bell rang tinnily, the aforementioned cute gelato scooper picking his head up from where he'd been resting it on the counter and greeting him with a dry corporate-required greeting. the thing about hinata's mystery man was he wasn't the most expressive.. or even all that cheery. he always sounded like he'd just heard from his roommate that their cat had pissed on his favorite sweater or something. at least, he assumed this guy was college age like him?

“hi, kageyama!” hinata replied sunnily, looking pointedly at kageyama’s name tag. this seemed to startle the other man, who had seemingly forgotten he was wearing a name tag. or maybe it was that this weird redhead had been coming in when he was on shift for three weeks in a row and had only just now used his name? 

“uh.. you too. the usual?” kageyama faltered, staring at the shorter man with a bored expression. he was totally trying to play off his excitement, right? (god, hinata, you weirdo!) hinata nodded in response, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he braced himself against the counter. maybe today he would give him his number? no, he still hadn't planned how he'd go about that. 

you see, hinata had been striking up casual conversation over the weeks. he was gradually drawing more and more out of the taller man! it was progress! he started out simple with asking about the weather and his day beforehand or plans after, and he learned that they went to college in the same area! he had yet to run into kageyama, though.. but he didn't let that discourage him! he was determined to know as much as he could about kageyama. 

he watched as kageyama used the weirdly shaped scooper to shove some stracciatella in a waffle cone— man, his poor wallet. thus the reason he only made it on tuesdays— with probably way too much excitement, which the other man scoffed at. kageyama didn't seem to value the customer service rules very much. he was always very standoffish and rude, and made funny comments under his breath when he thought hinata wouldn't hear him. it was rather endearing, though! in some strange way..

“why do you eat so much gelato, anyways?” kageyama questioned as he finished off stuffing the cone, reaching across the counter to hand it to hinata— who took it happily— and turning around to wash his tools off. 

“oh come on, it's not that much!” hinata retorted, licking at the sides of his cone so the gelato wouldn't drip. 

“you come here every week.”

“so?”

“.. it's december.”

“that it is!” 

kageyama groaned in defeat, muttering something about how you can't fix stupid before telling him the price and waiting for him to pay. hinata was a strange one, indeed. he didn't carry a card— he always paid in cash, which pissed kageyama off to no end. he hated splitting a ten, but he had to do it every damn tuesday. and for a week, he had to do it every other day. just how much cash did this guy have? it was weird. 

but then again, everything about him was weird. he even talked funny, and he was crazy short. the worst thing was— 

“so, how's your day been?” hinata chirped, taking a bite (!!) of his gelato and plopping down at the table closest to the register. 

the worst thing was hinata always stayed until he finished his gelato.

kageyama exhaled through his nose. he was too tired to deal with hinata’s caffeinated antics. (did he drink coffee? there was no way he would be this energetic without caffeine, right?) “slow,” kageyama supplied after a minute, hinata frowning at how curt his response was. 

“any weird customers today?” 

“hm.. yeah. one.”

“oh?” hinata's interest was piqued. he leaned forward in his seat. 

“yep. he comes in weekly and tries to talk to me as if he doesn't realize how creepy and weird he is.”

hinata doesn't get it. “man, that sounds like a real drag! do you want me to chase him out for you?” seriously, who could be this dense?

“if you want. but be careful, he's a stalker,” kageyama warned, raising his hands up near his face and wiggling his fingers menacingly. he looked like the cooler older alternative sister in a western horror movie telling a ghost story that foreshadows the whole plot of the movie. 

hinata snorted and rolled his eyes at the display before him, tapping his feet against the floor rhythmically as he ate away at the gelato in his hand. “you're weirder than i thought you'd be, kageyama,” he commented between bites— seriously, who bites their ice cream?— which caused an embarrassed flush to bloom on kageyama's cheeks. 

"you're the weirdo here, you stalker," he mumbled, wiping his gelato scoop and his hands dry. hinata feigned a dramatic gasp at the accusation, looking at the taller boy with wide eyes. "i'm the stalker? i only come here once a week!" 

“you're always here during my shift!”

“that's a coincidence—“

“you were here practically every day two weeks ago.” 

“maybe i just really like gelato?” 

“i have a feeling that's not the—" kageyama's bickering was cut off by hinata pushing his chair back abruptly and standing up, pretending to check the time on a watch he didn't own. "oh would you look at that! i have practice! gotta go, bye!" he shoved the remnants of his waffle cone into his mouth and took off, leaving kageyama with a ringing door and an empty establishment. 

what a weird dude.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hinata shows up regularly, but that doesn’t make it any easier for kageyama to handle

kageyama had been weirdly looking forward to the next tuesday that rolled around. he swore up and down to himself that hinata was definitely not the cause of this, and that he was just excited to get his paycheck this week so he could finally get some new volleyball shoes he'd been eyeing.

as hinata strolled in at around noon like he always did, he fell into their familiar routine— hinata greeted kageyama, kageyama gave him his usual, which one would think he wouldn't remember since he scooped gelato for plenty other snot-nosed kids and preteens scrounging for their leftover pocket change, but he did remember, and he gave him that damned chocolate chunk gelato every time. 

how could such an eccentric guy like such a bland flavor? sure, the gelato was drizzled with chocolate sauce, but it was still essentially just vanilla bean. kageyama had found himself eating samples of it out of curiosity for the shorter man and deciding it was boring each time he tried it. he much preferred amarena over stracciatella any day.

as hinata sat across the counter at the closest possible table, he voiced this question that had been sitting on him the past couple weeks. “why do you like such a boring flavor?” kageyama questioned, wiping his hands on his apron before resting his elbows on the counter. 

hinata frowned at the other man, an expression he was all too used to, tapping his gelato to his lips as if he were considering something. “i dunno. it just tastes good? i don't like changing flavors, and this was the first one i tried, so..” 

huh. "you're so weird.“

hinata prickled as kageyama lobbed the insult at him carelessly, his eyebrow twitching. “you're the weird one!”

“are you delusional? you stalked my store!”

“it's not your store, idiot! you work for a small business—“

“listen here, dumbass—“

oh, how fun tuesdays were. 

\--

at another point, weeks down the line, hinata started to try different flavors at kageyama's request. the first one was nocciola, which he didn't like very much. there was something about hazelnuts that he just couldn't stomach. 

the next week, kageyama gave him a sample of caffé. he laughed so much his stomach hurt after hinata spit it into the trash can. “i HATE coffee,” he seethed, throwing knives with his death stare at the man behind the counter who cackled at his demise. 

\--

the week of valentine’s day was a weird one. 

kageyama never really saw the need to celebrate such a holiday— or really any holiday. he didn't like to make a big deal out of things. hell, he barely ever celebrated his birthday unless his classmates or teammates somehow found out the date and threw him a surprise party. 

(that happened once, in his second year of high school. he could tell the first years didn't want to be there. he knew they thought he looked scary. they grumbled when they were the ones to clean the gym of its streamers afterwards.)

and yet, the gelato shop had decorations everywhere— was eating gelato a romantic treat? he had no idea. all the flavors he was told to set out were varying shades of red and pink with some chocolate ones tossed in the mix. 

when the door opened he remembered that today was tuesday. 

hinata’s sunny greeting hit him all at once, all but knocking him off his feet. he felt ridiculous for the way he dropped the gelato scoop in his hand into the gelato tub underneath. 

hinata wasn't even at the door. it was a worn out mother and her two kids rubbing their sticky hands on their jeans.

since when had this become routine?

he hadn't even noticed how easy it had been to expect hinata to come tumbling in at the same time every tuesday. he found himself checking the time more often than he was used to, waiting for hinata to turn up. 

he'd rather die than admit he was the sunniest, brightest part of this whole damned job. 

sure enough, after serving three more customers, hinata came barreling through the door like a puppy who hadn't seen its owner for a month. kageyama managed not to sway on his feet or drop anything this time around.

“hey, kageyama!” the redhead singsonged, bounding up to the counter and planting his hands on top of it. he'd gotten awfully comfortable with invading the personal space of their customer and cashier relationship. “any special flavors this week?”

“why?” kageyama asked this flatly as if he weren't surrounded by valentine's paraphernalia. 

“cuz valentine’s day is this friday! i dunno, gelato seems like a thing you'd get on a big romantic date with a girl, so i just assumed..”

oh, so it was romantic. “we have a few.”

“you pick again!”

“are you sur—“

“NO coffee shit this time!”

kageyama bit back a snort as he got to work stuffing tiramisu into a cone methodically and promptly handed it to the shorter man. hinata paid with cash again, kageyama grumbling about how he needed to “get a damn card or something because you're eating up all the ones”. such a drama king. 

hinata licked the gelato experimentally, his nose scrunching up. “this tastes.. weird,” he articulated, taking a big bite despite his criticism. 

“why do you do that?”

“what?”

“you keep biting it. it's weird.”

hinata looked at the taller man like he'd sprouted another head. “you're the weird one if you can't bite your ice cream!”

kageyama rolled his eyes and watched as hinata chewed on the new bite in his mouth, still unsure of whether he liked it or not. he didn't see why, since it should have gotten a reaction out of him by now— 

hinata's face changed as it dawned on him how weird the flavor was. “is this caffé?” he whined, kageyama stifling his laughter behind his hand. 

“tiramasu, actually. not completely coffee. i'm surprised you just noticed,” kageyama replied, laughing to himself between sentences. 

hinata, who had been leaning on the counter instead of in his usual seat at the nearby table, reached over the counter for kageyama. the taller man dodged his hand and gelato cone fearfully, hinata's eyes blazing as he landed a hit on his nose with the gelato cone. tiramisu got all over and up his nose, making kageyama cough and back into the sink, scowling.

“oi, dumbass, what the fuck are you doing?” kageyama wiped his face off with a napkin, shooting a glare at the shorter man. hinata grinned mischeviously, dodging kageyama’s dirty napkin as it was lobbed at his face. “payback!” hinata huffed, putting a hand on the counter. “i thought it would be funny! come on, are you actually all that mad?” the redhead teased, watching as the taller man’s ears got red with embarrassment. oh yeah.. there were other customers. 

hinata had a terrible habit of forgetting these things, but it was especially bad around kageyama! whenever he gets to talk to him it's like the rest of the world melts away and it's just the two of them joking around for a half hour. 

it's a half hour that he looked forward to every week. 

kageyama looked like he'd rather die than hang out with him any longer, so hinata took the hint and hightailed it out of there, smushed cone of tiramisu in hand. 

maybe he'd give it to kenma.

meanwhile, kageyama stood there for a moment, sticky nosed and angry eyed, before pulling himself together as more people filed into the shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u liked this chapter!!! send me an ask over at jukeboxtheghostie on tumblr if u wanna yell abt volleyball boys w me :,3 
> 
> i appreciate every kudos and comment i get!!!! yall r so so sweet it makes my day when i read a nice comment from one of u <3
> 
> check back next wednesday for chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hinata ignores their usual routine and shows up twice this week. it throws kageyama off so much he can barely focus.

the next week, hinata came in twice.

once on his normal tuesday to try a sorbetto flavor. he actually quite liked that one, kageyama feeling triumphant that he had found at least one other flavor the redhead could order because they were “seriously running out of stock of this damned stracciatella”— they weren't, he was just getting sick of refilling it so often— and simultaneously feeling it was oddly appropriate he'd liked the orange flavoring.

the second time he came in that week was a complete surprise to kageyama. he had been scooping for a full house, two other coworkers helping him in the assembly line on a warm sunday afternoon. the winter air had started to thaw, and families were coming out of their caves to eat cold treats in public instead of curled up in blankets. he was tired, to say the least, watching the clock on the wall and waiting for his shift to end so he could wash his hands of that damned gelato smell and go set a volleyball like his hands were meant to do. 

what he didn't expect to see was hinata pushing the door open, the bell ringing as he dragged a blond inside. he didn't seem that interested by his surroundings, eyes glued to his phone most of the time and mumbling short replies every time hinata stopped talking— and god, was he talking a lot. not that it wasn’t a new thing.

kageyama stood there for a moment before waving to hinata's spot in line, feeling his chest tighten a bit when the redhead grinned in response. his coworker, kuroo, elbowed him in the side, so he looked down at what he was doing. he'd dropped the cone he was preparing. kageyama withheld an eye roll as he bowed to the customer and remade his order, keeping his customer service smile on and nervously awaiting hinata's turn. 

why was he nervous? it was probably because this wasn't their normal routine and he felt thrown off by it, but something didn't sit quite right with that explanation. maybe it was the crowd? the fact he had brought a friend? he scooped almost furiously, sure his friendly smile had dropped for his default frown and knitted eyebrows.

(“you'll look 80 by the time you turn 30 if you keep doing that,” hinata had lectured, which earned a scoff from kageyama. “what am i doing?” 

“your eyebrows! they're all..” hinata, ever so the wordsmith, opted for a bullshit onomatopoeia that was somewhere between a growl and a snarl as he poked at his own brow and furrowed it in the middle. “you'll get all wrinkly! do you think a girl would date an old man?”

“actually, if the girl had da—“

“i'm gonna stop you right there, pervert.”

“wha—! i'm not a—")

kageyama snapped out of his own thoughts, worrying his bottom lip as he packed a waffle cone with fior di latte. he could hear hinata talking to his friend now, so he half-listened until one word piqued his interest. spike. 

he listened closer, confirming that he was in fact talking about volleyball. geez! what a coincidence, right? wasn't that weird? was he on a team? did he play professionally? is he training to do so? is it just a hobby— 

“earth to kageyama!” hinata singsonged, grinning wickedly as kageyama again had to snap himself out of his thoughts. this time he had been spiraling into volleyball-land, which was a term so affectionately coined by his manager who often caught him muttering new strategies and starting positions to himself instead of restocking the gelato cakes or cleaning the counters. he couldn't help it, really! volleyball had taken over his life ever since he'd started playing in primary school. 

“you know him?" hinata's friend supplied, glancing at the man behind the counter with a bored expression. 

“yeah! we're friends—“

“we are not. you come into the store on my shift every tuesday like a creep,” kageyama replied hotly, already preparing hinata's order. “does your friend want anything?”

"kenma would like the caffé gelato because he’s gross and likes coffee," hinata answers matter-of-factly, cackling when his friend— kenma, as kageyama now knew him— poked him disapprovingly in the side. "don't bastardize coffee," kenma huffed, a hint of a laugh in his tone. kageyama nodded and handed hinata his cone before getting to work on kenma's. he couldn't help but think about how he was talking about volleyball earlier, and now that he looked, he noticed the redhead was wearing a shirt for one of the big teams in tokyo. 

“do you play?” kageyama asked coolly, smoothing out any excitement as he shoved caffé into the waffle cone in his hand. 

“huh?” hinata ever so smartly replies. 

“your shirt. you play volleyball?” kageyama clarified, handing kenma his cone and sliding down to the register. 

“oh! yeah! i'm a middle blocker!” hinata was positively beaming at this point, boasting his position with pride. kenma paid for the both of them while kageyama looked at the shorter man with a hint of surprise. 

“you? a middle blocker? aren't you a little small for that?” 

“excuse me! i'll have you know i can fly!”

“that’s the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard.” 

“i'm serious! i can—“

“shouyou,” kenma cut in, “you're yelling. and holding up the line.” hinata's cheeks promptly heated up as he scooted out of line, but not before he slapped his free hand against the counter in front of kageyama. “i'll prove it!”

kageyama just rolled his eyes and waved him off, ignoring the weird look kuroo was giving him as he moved to help the next person who needed to be rung up. 

his first name was shouyou, he thought as he scooped a high schooler some stracciatella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLYYYYYYYY VOLLEYBALL TALK :,) im almost outta prewritten chapterz already!!!! thank yall sm fr reading :3 check back next wed fr chapter 4!
> 
> DONT FORGET 2 WASH UR HANDS N AVOID LARGE CROWDZ!!!! STAY SAFE


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another friend appears! hinata convinces (okay, he begs) kageyama to toss to him after learning what position he plays.

the next week, hinata came in at the normal time on the normal day. kageyama felt like he could breathe a little more once they were back in their normal cycle. hinata tried limone this time, humming happily at the sweetness. 

kageyama couldn't help but think of hinata's offer (had it been an offer?) the other day. as he listened to hinata talk as he ate his sample, leaning over the counter while kageyama washed the tools in the sink, he only wondered what he could have meant by flying. he'd just have to see it for himself, he figured. 

he turned around to face hinata just as he had been laying half on the counter, reaching with his whole body to scoop himself a generous sample of limone with a sample spoon, looking like a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “hinata!” kageyama roared, shoving his hands away from the gelato and off the counter as the redheaded culprit giggled maniacally. 

\--

hinata showed up again on the next sunday. he shouldn't have been surprised, but was he supposed to assume this was part of their new routine? 

hinata came later than usual, so it wasn't as packed as last time, and without kenma this time. in fact, he had a different friend! were these two on the same team as him? 

this friend was tall, taller than kageyama, and blond. he looked incredibly pissed for some reason and he was fidgeting with his bracelets. he seemed to notice a pattern in hinata's friends. 

“you again,” kageyama hummed, already going to prepare his stracciatella order before hinata tapped the counter quickly. 

“wait! surprise me,” he said decisively, before quickly backtracking. “no caffé.” he looked to his taller friend then. “what do you want, tsukki?” 

tsukki— what a cutesy nickname for such an intimidating guy!— looked over the flavors for a moment before deciding on lampone. kageyama made their orders one by one, handing hinata his mystery cone first and then tsukki his cone as the blond snorted at something hinata had said. “you're ridiculous.”

“no, i'm serious! can i pretty pretty please?” 

“we not in high school anymore, shouyou, you can't just—“

“i'll clean the gym myself and lock up nice and tight! if you could just convince the coach—“

kageyama didn't know what they were talking about, but whatever it was, tsukki wasn't going to let up. hinata paid for their cones and tsukki (god, what was this guy's actual name?) went to sit at the table hinata usually did. 

hinata snapped kageyama out of his own thoughts as he hoisted himself up on the counter, taking an experimental bite of his gelato. 

kageyama had decided to be nice this time. he'd noticed he didn't like nutty tastes, but he did like fruity tastes and he definitely liked boring stuff like vanilla, so he gave him something like the latter. fior de latte was a pretty popular flavor there, after all. 

hinata hummed happily as he rolled the morsel over his tongue, feeling it melt in his mouth. this flavor was really light and fluffy, like a less heavy version of stracciatella without all the chocolate chunks and sauce. “hey, this one's really good! i knew i could trust you, kageyama,” he swooned, dramatically putting a hand to his forehead and pretending to fall back. 

kageyama pushed him off of the register he was leaning against. “get off the counter, dumbass,” he hissed, “you're going to get me in trouble!” hinata just laughed and hopped off the counter, opting for leaning against said counter and staring at kageyama as he took another more generous bite of his gelato. “lighten up, you goody-two-shoes!” he taunted, kageyama rolling his eyes at the shorter man. 

tsukishima looked at the pair's interactions with a sardonic gaze. “would you please wait until romeo is off his shift to rub yourself all over him?” he deadpanned, hinata simultaneously bristling and turning red at the accusation. the pair talked at the same time. 

“he's not—”

“i'm not romeo—“

“what do you mean RUBBING—“

“he's the one being annoying! what if his dumbass gets me fired—“

“oh calm down, your job is just fine—“

tsukishima was too tired for this bullshit. 

the pair eventually tired themselves out with the flustered bickering, hinata finishing his cone slowly. tsukishima had finished far before hinata and had reason to believe hinata ate slower to prolong his time there. he usually scarfed down dinner after practices like it was his last meal! he sure was a conundrum. 

"oh! hey bakageyama, are you free any time soon?" hinata chirped, kageyama scoffing at the nickname but not saying anything against it. 

“i get off at 6, why?” 

“what position do you play?”

hinata's eyes were so bright. the taller man didn't think he'd ever be able see him more excited about anything other than volleyball. “setter.” the redhead's eyes got brighter, insufferably brighter. did this guy not have an off switch?

“really? perfect! do you wanna toss to me after work? so i can show you how i fly?” hinata was bouncing on the balls of his feet, tsukishima rolling his eyes at his excitability. 

he was like a puppy, kageyama thought. he didn't have any experience with dogs, since animals didn't like him very much, but with hinata looking at him like that, he knew immediately those were puppy eyes. “fine.”

hinata clapped his hands together and turned to tsukishima, mumbling about a gym— probably securing an empty one. tsukishima was shaking his head a lot, so kageyama spoke up. 

“we can use my team's gym. i have a key.” 

“really???” hinata gasped, turning back around so fast to face him he thought the shorter man would get whiplash. kageyama nodded, pointing at the clock. “i still have 2 hours. come by at the end of my shift.” 

hinata nodded happily, waving goodbye and bounding out of the shop with a bounce in his step.

\--

it was the longest 2 hours of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHH ALMOST OUT OF DRAFTED CHAPTERS!!!!! *intense sweating*  
> thank u fr reading another chapter!!!! :33 i know these arent the longest in the world but im working on writing longer chapters so i can feed yall more than 1k a week lol  
> plz check back next wednesday 4 the next chapter!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hinata and kageyama finally play some fucking volleyball.

once his shift ended and he was preparing to close up shop, kageyama heard the familiar ringing of the bell on top of the door, looking up from his broom to the way-too-close image of hinata shouyou. he flinched back a little when he realized how close they were, hinata laughing excitedly. “geez, dumbass, ever heard of personal space?”

“no, i haven't! what is it?” hinata grinned, grabbing the dustpan to help kageyama sweep up his pile.

“your sarcasm delivery is so terrible.”

“you're terrible!!”

“very creative, pervert.”

“i'm not a pervert!”

“a pervert with no concept of personal space—“

“a pervert you're taking to your volleyball team's gym where we'll be all alone and i can—“

“oh my god, now you definitely sound like a pervert,” kageyama snorted, finishing up the sweeping and taking the dustpan from hinata to empty and stow away with the broom. it felt oddly like being stuck with the annoying kid while it was your turn to clean up after class ended way back in primary school. 

“whatever, bakageyama,” hinata jeered, sticking his tongue out at the taller man and pushing his nose up with his thumb like a pig. kageyama shoved him aside to get into the broom closet and clean up and put away the rest of the dishes.

“are you done yet? i wanna spike your tosses!” 

“you sound like a middle schooler. how convenient— you look and act like one too.”

“so rude, stupidyama!”

“how are you so bad at nicknames?”

kageyama grabbed his belongings from the staff room and lead hinata out the door so he could lock up shop, patting the door handle twice as he left. 

“what team do you play for?” 

“my college's.”

“oh, me too! wouldn't it be so cool if we played against each other this season?”

“i dunno how you play. you just seem like a little shrimp.” 

“just you wait!”

\--

kageyama unlocked the doors to the changing room so they could get out of their regular clothes (or work uniform, in kageyama’s case) and into proper gym wear, setting his bag on the ground and tugging his shirt over his head. 

hinata averted his eyes quickly and followed suit, unbuttoning his jeans and sliding out of them with ease. 

they got dressed silently, the quietest they'd been since they met, but hinata definitely reasoned that there was a big difference between eating gelato with someone and undressing in front of them. not that it was all that embarrassing, but it was.. different with hinata. he didn't always enjoy comments about the scars on his chest, but thankfully they were back to back, so kageyama didn't see anything. 

hinata shoved his shoes on quickly and raced kageyama to the gym door, all but collapsing on the floor as they piled into the empty gym. 

hinata had been in practice just yesterday, but he felt like he'd been starving to feel the stinging warm sensation of a ball slamming against his palm and into the ground for weeks. maybe it was the unfamiliar gym. thankfully, it was structured similarly to his own gym, so he didn't need to do very much adjusting to the court. 

he beelined for the supply closet, pushing the ball cart out into the middle of the gym like he was racing a car. kageyama stretched, watching hinata look around at his surroundings in awe for a moment before making him come over and stretch too before he pulled something and couldn't go to actual practice. 

and then they tested hinata's theory. 

hinata wasn't lying when he said he could fly. kageyama's first set to hinata had been far too low, assuming his height would hinder the distance he could go. the set hit him in the face as he sprung up like a damned pogo stick. “ack!”

hinata stumbled as he landed, laughing as he wiped at his face and turned to kageyama.

he didn't expect him to look so dumbstruck, but it was certainly welcomed. 

“told you i could fly!” 

\--

they played around with hinata's jump the rest of the evening, kageyama quickly learning how to set directly into the palm of his hand. the first time he did it, hinata exclaimed so loud kageyama swore he heard the birds outside leave the trees. “do you have the hands of god??” he had yelled, grabbing both hands in his own smaller ones and staring at him with bright eyes. 

that was the first time kageyama tobio ever thought of kissing hinata shouyou. the thought startled him so much that he shook hinata's hands off of his own and mumbled something about “one more set“, turning his head away so hinata couldn't see the faint blush on his cheeks. 

\--

by the end of their practice it's already well after sunset. they're both exhausted, sweating and heaving like they'd run three marathons. 

hinata laid face down on the floor for a while before he could stretch, kageyama snickering and poking fun at him as if he didn't feel as equally exhausted. 

the pair worked scarily well together on the court. it was as if they'd been playing as a dynamic duo for years instead of kageyama learning how high he could jump mere hours ago. 

they cleaned up the gym in near silence, hinata occasionally singing songs he'd made up on a whim as he swept or picked up stray volleyballs. kageyama found it weirdly endearing, but mostly annoying. 

once they finished cleaning and changing into their normal clothes, kageyama locked the gym up and started his walk back to his apartment. hinata followed aimlessly, desperate to keep up conversation with jabbing remarks and comments about the weird vending machine they passed or the cat he saw on the street. kageyama kept his cool for as long as he could, but once he turned the last corner and onto the street his apartment was on, he stopped abruptly. hinata crashed into his back with an ever flattering “bwuh”, windmilling his arms to keep his balance. “hey, what gives?” he complained, his pouty, playful face changing when kageyama turned to look at him. 

kageyama was never the best with facial expressions, and anyone could tell. he even had trouble smiling sometimes! so one could imagine the confusion he felt from watching hinata's face change from something hopeful to something of a frightened puppy flattening its ears to its head. he had to stop himself from reaching up to feel his face and see what kind of expression he was making. “why are you following me?” he snapped, harsher than he'd meant to. 

hinata physically recoiled from the biting remark, looking even more like a kicked puppy than before. “i thought that you wanted to hang out more! you were totally leading me here! is this your place? it's so—“

“go. away.”

hinata stopped mid sentence, shutting his mouth and looking up at kageyama in confusion. 

his face looked scary. 

“uh.. okay, sorry,” he replied, quieter than the taller man had ever heard him. “i just thought, you know, since we were friends, we—“

“you think we're friends?” kageyama spat, and oh no he can't stop himself anymore. “you're a creep who stalks me at my job!” 

“y.. you wanted to practice with me! that makes us friends, right? we worked so well together back there!” hinata's hands were shaking, bunched up in frustrated fists at his sides.

“whatever. just go home.”

“you're not denying it!” 

“go away.”

“kageyama—”

“shouyou,” kageyama exasperated, quickly realizing his mistake. fuck. hinata didn't even know he knew his first name, he bet. who was the stalker now? 

kageyama quickly turned on his heel and beelined for his apartment complex, ignoring hinata's plea to “stop!” and “wait a second!” in favor of locking himself in his apartment. 

why had he even thrown such a fit in the first place? what was wrong with him? he should have just let it alone, let him off easily, he thought to himself as he slid down the wall of his bedroom to sit on the floor. 

idiot. 

meanwhile, hinata had been frozen to that spot for minutes after kageyama ran off, not really sure what had just happened. 

he reached up to touch his face and jumped when he realized how hot it felt. 

kageyama knew his first name. how had he..? he could have only heard it from kenma, but he'd only said it once or twice last week. did kageyama have such a good memory or was he a creep? was the taller man deflecting his stalkerish personality onto him?

hinata turned around and made his way back to the bullet train station he'd passed while following kageyama home, holding his face in his hands. 

he couldn't wipe the smile off of his face until he got to the station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy april fools this isnt a joke tho trans hinata real  
> ALSO SO SORRY THIS IS A SORT OF LATE UPDATE I PULLED AN ALL NIGHTER THEN FELL ASLEEP AND JUST NOW REMEMBERED TO UPDATE BC MY ANIME SITE STOPPED LOADING *curls up into a ball* i just wanna watch world trigger  
> i hope u like it!!!!! this is my last pre written chap so i have to sit down and do more than edit lol  
> see u next week!! online classes start then so well see about my posting schedule


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